All of us have memories of having fun during the summer time. Those memories may be of hot days in the park, eating ice cream, seeing a summer movie, travel, longs days with friends and family, or even just lounging around. Mixed in with these memories are certainly also very significant and meaningful experiences of learning and growth. In fact, with more time and less structure than during the school year, the summer is a wonderful time to explore new and different areas connected to our interests, aspirations, and even our goals for the future.

It is with all of this in mind that I’m taking the opportunity to remind students to take advantage of the summer as it fast approaches. If you do not already have set plans for the whole summer, consider volunteering opportunities, a summer academic program, looking for a part-time job or even taking an on-line course. To help you with this there is a Summer Programs portion of the Guidance Department section of the BSGE website (http://bsgeweb.wordpress.com/summer-programs/) where a listing of paid internships and lower cost/free summer programs is updated throughout the school year. Living in New York City we are fortunate to have an incredible variety of summer opportunities. Among those currently listed are programs ranging from the Breakthrough Collaborative (a paid internship that aims to “inspire and develop the next generation of teachers and educational leaders”) to Girls Who Code (“computer science education pairing 300+ hours of intensive instruction…with career-focused mentorship”) to the Musical Theater Summer Intensive at Prospect Theater Company.

However, the best resources for different summer ideas are also right around you every day. Talk with your friends, family, teachers and classmates. What are they going to do this summer? What have they done in past summers? This will likely lead you to new ideas that you had not even considered. Most importantly, remember that the coming months of July and August will come and go very quickly. Be sure that you take advantage and get all of the enjoyment and learning out of them that you can.